Every sword has a story.
Opening with an ultra violent prologue, Yakuza Princess begins with an absolute BANG as a tragic event - unfolding 20 years ago - unfolds on the screen and lays out the path that brings two lost souls into an uneasy alliance where bloodlust becomes a blessing.
Based on the acclaimed graphic novel Samurai Shiro by Danilo Beyruth and set in the expansive Japanese community of the largest diaspora in the world, Yakuza Princess takes an orphan all the way from her tragic and humble beginnings to the head of a crime syndicate.
From Osaka, Japan to Sao Paulo, Brazil, the journey will not be an easy one to make. Death follows these characters like shadows follow the path of the sun. Fortunately, with great colors and awesome stunt sequences, Yakuza Princess is just as poetic as its tale suggests. There is a certain amount of beauty in its violence and it is all showcased here within director and co-writer Vicente Amorim’s film.
This is a tense action flick where the action scenes are both intense and almost an art form as we get lots of up close and personal attacks via swords, guns, fists, and pool sticks. The film follows orphan Akemi (played by pop star Masumi), who, upon turning 21, discovers that she is the heiress to half of Japan's expansive Yakuza crime syndicate. After forging an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Vikings) who believes an ancient sword binds their two fates, Akemi unleashes war against the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead.
Also starring Tsuyoshi Ihara, Toshiji Takeshima, Eijiro Ozaki, and Charles Paraventi, Yakuza Princess works itself up into a steely gaze of neon-soaked revenge and buckets of blood as our characters traverse a deadly landscape of slick streets and gut-filled gutters. Shot in a style that is at once up close and very personal, the film is also quite expressive, managing to juggle all sorts of intentions and emotions while maintaining a fine line of ultra-slick violence.
The blisteringly-paced screenplay is written by Amorim, Fernando Toste, Kimi Lee, and Tubaldini Shelling, who also produces the film alongside Andre Skaf and Filmland International while XYZ Films executive produces. The result is a visually edgy upgrade to what audiences have seen before in these Yakuzi-driven tales of murder and mayhem all tangled within an upside down world where Portuguese products are less common than Japanese adverts.
Yakuza Princess opens in theaters and on demand on Friday, September 3rd. Wanna play?
MPAA Rating: unrated.
Runtime: 111 mins
Director: Vicente Amorim
Writer: Amorim, Fernando Toste, Kimi Lee, and Tubaldini Shelling
Cast: MASUMI; Jonathan Rhys Meyers; Tsuyoshi Ihara
Genre: Thriller
Tagline: Every Sword Has s Story.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor: XYZ Films
Official Site:
Release Date: September 3, 2021
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Based on the acclaimed graphic novel "Samurai Shiro" by Danilo Beyruth and set in the expansive Japanese community of Sao Paulo, Brazil — the largest Japanese diaspora in the world — YAKUZA PRINCESS follows orphan Akemi (played by pop star MASUMI), who, upon turning 21, discovers that she is the heiress to half of Japan's expansive Yakuzacrime syndicate. After forging an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, History Channel's The Vikings) who believes an ancient sword binds their two fates, Akemi unleashes war against the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead.
